Jul 31 - Delaware Water Gap to Wind Gap - 15.8 mi - 7:50-3:30 - 75º F

We took down the tents and were out of the campground at 6:15 vowing never to return.
What a contrast with our earlier KOA which was so quiet at night, had defined tent sites with wood chips, allowed clotheslines, and had individual bathrooms and showers that were pristine.
After parking our car at Wind Gap we continued with Jerry driving to Delaware Water Gap. We had planned on breakfast at McDonalds but the highway sign neglected to give the exit number and we could not spot it from the highway. We found the Water Gap Diner in town and decided to have breakfast there. That breakfast was our best on the trip with Gale having a Greek Omelet, Klaus the Western Omelet, and Jerry a large stack of pancakes with scrambled eggs.
We parked at the trailhead in town at 7:50 and followed a road uphill before dropping down to lily pad filled lake where we chatted with two couples taking photographs of a green heron and learned one had a daughter who owns The Laughing Pint Pub in Baltimore. From there we continued on well constructed steps made from big blocky rocks that went up between large rhododendron hugging the trail. The narrow trail through a woods of tall hemlock and bushy rhododendron continued up providing views of the Delaware River. At 1400’ the trail turned to dirt and smaller stones which made walking easy.
Once on top we came upon Late Start a 62 year old man who was walking alone from Marion, VA to Katahdin, MA – his 2nd attempt to complete the walk. He had walked last year from Springer Mountain, GA to Marion but gave up because of the terrible heat and the drought which dried up a lot of the springs. He mentioned that he had at least 8 people who promised to do the AT with him this year but one by one they had dropped out until he knew he just had to start alone. He reported that he generally walks 7-10 miles a day, getting up at 4:30, on the trail by 5 and stops walking around noon. His tips were to use the European Stirrystick (4 lithium batteries power a light that messes up the DNA of organisms) to purify water and a shoulder pad from a car seatbelt to reduce abrasion on his shoulders from the pack. He was the first thru hiker to share his journal with us – a list of the hikes that were the hardest and those that were the most beautiful. No location was on both lists!
We continued on the wide road and then turned into the woods on a narrow trail. This turn was hard to see and Jerry who was ahead alerted us. After 7 miles of easy walking (a lot fewer rocks under our feet) we encountered an area with huge slabs of rocks. We stopped for a lunch break in the shade, sitting on one of the uplifted rocks. Gale was the only one hungry after our large breakfast and she only ate about half of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Once back on the trail we got a frantic call from Jerry to get our camera quick. He had encountered a 4-5’ rattlesnake which was still on the trail with 8 rattles vibrating at a furious rate. The snake looked huge with a body as large as a man’s forearm. Klaus was only too happy to let Jerry take the photos and was deciding we needed to climb more rocks when the snake slithered into the woods downhill away from the trail. That made our 3rd snake, and 2nd rattlesnake during our 8 days hiking.
The trail stayed level but continued to be extremely rough with erratically spaced rocks. We scrambled over a large boulder field to gain an elevation of another 40’ and then continued on a level trail where again careful foot placement was mandatory. The woods were mostly oak and elm trees with an understory of ferns and small blueberry like bushes. There was a very steep downhill to the finish, switchbacks not included. We got down without incident and did a “high 5” in celebration of a successful trip. We drove Jerry back to his car and headed to McDonalds back in Wind Gap for a quick dinner and lots of drink refills. Then it was about a 4 hour drive back to Silver Spring.

Jul 30 - Lehigh Gap to Wind Gap - 20.7 mi - 7:25-5:30 - 65º F

We woke up early and had a quick breakfast of fruit and cereal. There had been no rain overnight so we managed to dodge the storm. We drove away at 6:30 and of course our noisy campers were not up – in fact there were no campers up this early. We parked our car at the AT lot at Wind Gap and then rode with Jerry to Lehigh Gap. We started hiking at 7:25 walking over the Lehigh Bridge and then crossed the highway to start the ascent. Because we are using the AT maps that are excellent for distance but do not give information about the terrain, we were unprepared for the cliff that awaited us. Jerry (aka Rabbit) in the lead took the wrong trail and we had to backtrack a little to find the one with the large sign clearly pointing the direction. The confusion resulted from the work area and fences just in front of the trail. We started at 400’ and took a steep rocky trail which half way up regressed to large boulders. Trail markings were on the rocks since there were no trees on this part of the mountain. This is a EPA Superfund Site because of all the emissions from zinc mining and smelting nearby. The trail became very steep and we often needed to use our hands rather than the trekking poles. In fact, Jerry took Gale’s poles for the final push to the top so she would have more flexibility. We were fortunate that the sky was blue, the rocks dry, and an occasional narrow ledge available to perch. Once we got up in a place where we had some rocks between us and the drop-off we could enjoy the view down to the Lehigh River Valley. Unfortunately, the top was not really the top because there was a rock slide with more boulders around the corner waiting for us, the trail was still going up although the grade was less steep. We were just thankful we had climbed up and did not have to navigate this going down. We made another note to use a second reference for the trail that gave information about the terrain despite Jerry comment that he really did not want to know.
After another 20 minutes of scrambling we were on the exposed summit. Here the trail was totally level and without any rocks. We were completely out in the open in the EPA Superfund Site and although the vegetation is making an anemic comeback. The trail continued like this pretty much until we descended 400’ into Little Gap. From here on the trail was totally rocky with just a few short stretches smooth. The climb out of Little Gap was surprisingly strenuous because we had a steep talus slope of boulders to scramble up. Once on top the remainder of the trail was relatively level until the first descent into Wind Gap. This part of the trail was also full of rocks varying between stretches of smaller rocks or larger rocks mostly with sharp points and edges. We saw two butterflies mating along the trail oblivious to passing hikers.
Today we met mostly day hikers and only a few thru hikers, none of whom we had encountered earlier in the week. Once we reached the road via switchbacks and steps we found Jerry waiting with two hikers who needed a ride back to their car at Little Gap. After 20.7 miles we were ready for Subway and explained that we could shuttle them but we needed to have dinner at Subway first. If they had not gotten a ride with us they would call a taxi. All 5 of us with gear managed to fit in the Honda.
Back at the campsite the couples with the large tents were excited we had accomplished our hike and promised to adhere to the 11 pm quiet time, which they did. Unfortunately, we had another 3 campers who arrived at 10 pm, one of whom proceeded to carry on a monologue until 3 am. We definitely need to get ear plugs.
We made notes about things we need to include next time:
• 2 large trash bags to put a wet rainfly and ground cloth and another one for the tent.
• earplugs
• a second tube of toothpaste
• extra camera battery
• whisk broom to sweep out the tent
• new thermometer to hook on the backpack; Klaus lost the one we had on day 5
• a second hairbrush or a comb
• 2nd pair of shoes with heavier tread (Gale had hers but Klaus only brought one pair)
• headbands; our hats allowed the sweat to just roll down our faces
• backpacker towels
• pencil sharpener (by hand)
• xerox trail profile we can add our notes to
• reference from 2nd AT book that describes the topography and vegetation on the trail

Jul 29 - Lehigh Gap to Rt 309 - 13.3 mi - 8:45-3:45 - 66º F

We woke up at 5:30 and had breakfast with Paul. We had heavy rain during the evening and there was fog/mist in the morning. We took a photograph of Paul with the log cabin in the background as a reminder of how thoroughly we had enjoyed our stay.
We drove both cars to Rt. 309, left our car and went with Jerry to Lehigh Gap. There was a posted detour right before the bridge over the Lehigh River but fortunately the AT parking we needed was just a little past that and we were able to pull across the on-coming traffic and into the lot on the south end of the bridge. We started walking north to south up a narrow trail which had a lot more rocks than yesterday but also some steps. The uphill continued for about 700’ before we came to a more moderate uphill for another 400’. This trail was also rocky with ferns covering the forest floor on either side of the trail. We passed no hikers until we were on the ridge and then encountered 5 thru hikers we had not met before.
The trail leveled out but continued to be rocky with several large rock jumbles that were challenging to traverse. This portion of the trail is not maintained. We stopped for lunch at Bake Oven Knob shelter where there was a picnic table but no privy available. The shelter was probably the smallest we have seen to date. There was a sunny area for tents nearby with blackberry bushes providing some privacy. We enjoyed a leisurely 30 minute lunch.
Continuing on to Bake Oven Knob summit we met two local women who hiked in from a nearby parking area. This overlook provided great views into the valley. Continuing on the trail we met the tattooed hiker from yesterday who told us more rocks awaited us ahead. He was right! At Bear Rocks there was a wall of boulders ranging in size from “refrigerators to tractor trailers” while the trail itself had large boulders we needed to get over or around. We thought Bear Rocks were tough until we got to the Knife Edge which at first we couldn’t believe the trail went up. We had to use handholds to scramble up the huge rocks more often than our trekking poles. The only helpful feature of these rocks was the fact they were large slabs of canted rocks. We noted hawks floating on the thermals overhead. We continued up to the Knife Edge which did at least in parts have a narrow ledge we could walk along while holding on to jagged rock. We traversed the Knife Edge for about 200 yards.
Coming off the Knife Edge we got a break with some downhill that was not all rocks. There we met Rock Hound sitting on a log taking a break. He was easy to identify from a distance by his hiking poles which are two long pieces of bamboo with duct tape on the bottom. He told us we had about 1.8 mi. to go which was less than we expected and turned out to be correct. The AT sign at Lehigh Gap incorrectly listed the distance as 15.3 mi. Rock Hound got his trail name because he works a lot on trail maintenance moving rocks to build paths, bridges, and fireplaces. He said he learned this as on-the-job AT training. He also reported seeing a 3’ rattlesnake today.
Leaving Rock Hound we had a wider trail which appeared to be an abandoned back road. With less rocks and a gentle downhill we soon arrived at our car on Rt. 309. As we drove off we commented that this section had been the rockiest we have encountered so far on the AT with approximately 70% a rough jagged rocky trail.
Our campsite at Evergreen Lake left a lot to be desired. First the camping area was very small and the sites not numbered. They had rules that you could not put up a clothesline on the weekend. Then Jerry decided he wanted to be in the trees but those were pine trees and the area underfoot had lots of roots. By the time we decided to go back to the first more open site another two cars had taken the one we picked. Fortunately they were together and moved to the area closest to the road giving us the second one. We moved the picnic table closer to our tents and then Jerry decided to sit on the same side of the table we were on while looking at the trail for tomorrow. When he sat down the picnic table almost flipped over for a second heart check of the trip. After a good laugh we got settled down and finalized the plans for tomorrow. Surprisingly there were no mosquitoes or gnats in our area.
Unfortunately, as nice as the neighboring campers were, they brought lots of beer along with their two huge tents and partied until midnight. Obviously no one from the camp office enforces the Quiet Rules. We need to add ear plugs to our camping list. Klaus also had a message from Paul that 70 mph winds with heavy rain were predicted for the area we were in but we were lucky because the storm hit the mountain range just south of us. Gale could see the lightning show when she went out to the showers later in the evening.

Jul 28 - Port Clinton to Hawk Mountain Road - 15.2 mi - 7:50–2:50 - 66º F

Klaus and I woke up 30 minutes early since he had set the alarm for 5:30 instead of 6:00. Put a wash in and was able to hang it out before breakfast. By then Jerry and Paul were up and we had breakfast of cereal, cherry tomatoes, cantaloupe, and tea. Paul dropped us off at the parking area near Port Clinton at 7:50 and we started up the hill. We made the decision to hike south to north today so we would be going up rather than coming down the steepest section of the trail. Paul had done some extra research for us asking a friend who hikes and has lived in the area all his life what he recommended and he was of the same opinion. It would be less stress on the body to hike up rather than down that section of the AT.
We had expected a difficult uphill and it was an uphill but there were only a few rocks and we made it to the top in 20 minutes – a 600’ elevation gain. On the way up we stepped off the trail to let two thru hikers go ahead of us. We gained the top of the ridge at 8:10 and had a relatively rock free trail for the next couple of miles. We stopped to talk to Rock Hound, one of the two thru hikers who passed us coming up, and he told us he had a heart attack in Virginia while at an overnight shelter, gone to the doctor the next day, and had a double by-pass operation that required a 3-month recovery. He came right back to thru hiking the AT after 3 months!
We reached Pocahontas Spring at 1,200’ and then had some really rocky stretches as we dropped down to Windsor Furnace at 6.2 mi. We met thru hiker Jason, hiking north to south, on this part of the trail. Jason was traveling light and by the end of today had already completed about 1,000 miles from Katahdin, Maine. He was doing about 25 miles a day and his cheap $30 shoes were falling apart and being held together with duct tape. Jason was hoping his shoes would hold together until Harpers Ferry, WV. Our opinion was they were not going to make it. Jason also had some very light Black Diamond folding trekking poles and last year had hiked the Pacific Crest Trail which is about 500 miles longer than the AT.
The next section was uphill to Pulpit Rock at 1500’ and this was very difficult. There were several rock jumbles and we had to navigate a large rock pile before we reached Pulpit Rock where was saw Rock Hound was also taking a break. We had lunch at the overlook with great views of the valley below and The Pinnacles to the north. This area is also next to an observatory which had a privy with toilet paper to which we all availed ourselves.
From here we continued on to the Pinnacles at 1600’ which we had seen from Pulpit Rock. During this time we passed two different groups of 4-person day hikers. They were coming back from the Pinnacles but underestimated the distance. As we came to an open area we noted a large 20’ rock pile in the shape of a cone. It immediately caught out attention and we followed a blue blaze trail to the Pinnacle overlook. This trail was also a challenge to walk because of the large rocks. Here we found the first thru hiker who passed us at 6:00 am. He was taking a nap on the rock. This was another great view and we started eating lunch when the rain started. Fortunately the showers were light and the tree canopy provided an adequate umbrella.
After lunch the AT followed a gravel road downhill. We picked up our pace because the road was graded with very few rocks. Jerry (trail name Rabbit) was in the lead and reported a large black bear had crossed the road 40’ ahead of him. We missed this but started paying more attention to the woods. We reached Hawk Mountain Road a little before 3:00 and Paul drove up within 5 minutes of our arrival. While we were waiting Jerry found the headband he dropped the day before. He treated all of us to a Frosty at Wendy’s and then Paul took us on a tour of Cabelas Outdoor Store, the largest in the US.
Back at the cabin we showered in anticipation of dinner at The Mustard Seed where we had an OUTSTANDING dinner along with wine Paul brought along. Gale had the ½ order of Chicken Florentine, Paul the full order of Chicken Florentine, Klaus the Spaghetti and Meatballs and Jerry the Eggplant Parmesan. Between the huge salad plate, the numerous refills of the bread basket and the entrée, no one had room for dessert.

Jul 27 - Rt 309 to Hawk Mountain Road - 11.5 mi - 8:45–2:30 - 66º F

We awakened to sunshine. After a breakfast that included cantaloupe and tomatoes from Paul’s garden along with cereal and tea, Paul drove us to the parking lot on Rt 309 where the AT crosses. We took photos and gave him a “drop dead” time of 2:30 for pick-up in case we did not have cell phone service on the mountain. We started into the woods walking from north to south on a level trail with few to no rocks, ferns and blueberry bushes, for the first hour of hiking. Since the trail was so good we covered about 3 miles during that time. After that the trail became rockier and we had sections of large rocks that we had to scramble over. We could see the rocky cliffs to the north suggesting that some of the trail boulders tumbled down from there. During this stretch we had to hunt for the trail twice since the large rock piles and surrounding trees obscured the blazes. We met only two hikers – one a day hiker and the other a thru hiker from Rockville, MD. We talked with him for awhile. His trail name is Torch because he set his pants on fire one night and the person he had met and was hiking with named him. Then he contracted Lyme disease and had to drop out for 10 days and came back with 21 more days of medication he has to take. He met his hiking partner on the trail but now says he is probably at least 100 miles ahead. Torch is still weak from the disease so he won’t be able to catch up. We marveled at his determination and wished him the best.
We were past lunch time and decided to stop at a campsite. Klaus and Jerry sat on a log and Gale put leaves on the camp ring stones to make a surprisingly comfortable perch. The woods were very quiet except for a hornet who wanted to share our lunch. After a couple of attempts to shoo it away, Klaus killed it. After lunch the rocks continued to fill the trail and Klaus called Paul and extended our estimated pick-up time to 3:30. We did not get out of the rocks until the downhill trail which went straight down with no switchbacks to make the descent easier on the knees. On reflection we decided the trail is about 50% dirt with only a few rocks and 50% is rocks and several boulder fields. Jerry reported that his ankle sprain was much better but that a severely bruised left big toe will make walking more difficult. We told him to stop trying to kick the rocks off the trail. Today Gale finally decided on a trail name – Caterpillar – because she is doing the AT in stages, needs more feet, and saw quite a few caterpillars today.
We finished at the original estimated time of 2:30 and were able to call Paul to have him pick us up at 3:00. Since we were sitting in the shade on a large rock Paul blew by us in his truck. Klaus took fast action and raced out to the road waving his trekking poles and shouting. There is a shelter for hikers further down the road and someone there flagged Paul and told him we were yelling for him.
Paul had never been to the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Visitor’s Center and so we all stopped in. There we found a beaver puppet for our grandson Jack and learned more about raptors which are the reason the sanctuary was established. We then came back to the cabin, folded up our tents which had dried out, did a wash, put out the sleeping bags on the porch to air out and took showers.
We treated Paul to dinner at the Crossroads Inn which he had recommended. Gale had Chicken Marsala, Klaus had crab cakes, Jerry had a Pasta with Marinara sauce and Paul had Chicken Parmesan. Then they all surprised Gale with a Happy Birthday song and a large brownie a la mode, which she shared with everyone. Dinner with conversation lasted from 6:30 – 8:00. We took the long way back so we could look for deer.

Jul 26- State Road 183 to Swatara Gap - 20.7 mi - 8:00–6:30 - 68º F

There was rain overnight and while our tent was on wood chips the rainfly and groundcover were wet. We packed those separately counting on being able to put them out to dry at the end of the day.
We left our car at Swatara Gap and went with Jerry to the start there the AT crosses Rt. 183. The trail started in a meadow and then went into the woods staying level for about 3 miles of easy hiking. During this time the narrow dirt trail was running parallel to a rockier swale with a carpet of ferns under the trees. Jerry, the Rabbit who bounds ahead, was sitting under a tree waiting for us. When he and Klaus, trail name Sweeper, continued walking, Gale heard a prolonged rattle! She froze and looked beside the trail. There in the low scrub was an Eastern Timber Rattlesnake. It had been very close to where Jerry was sitting. We waited for it to calm down before Gale moved past it.
A little further on we met Grasshopper (a long distance hiker we had met the first morning) coming north. This was the third time in as many days that we had seen him and today we had a longer conversation learning that he had lost 40 pounds since he started at Springer Mountain, GA on April 7. He said his biggest concern was to take his time on the rocks since it was easy to have an injury.
The only serious elevation change we had was going in and out of Schubert’s Gap. At the bottom there was one tenter and a small creek. Everything was very idyllic until a hiker came up from a blue blaze trail with a barking dog. We continued on finding the white blazes after an initial error. We noted the sign for Showers Steps on a crossing blue blaze trail – 500 steps down to a spring. We did not need water and certainly were not eager for a steep downhill despite rough stone steps to make it easier.
We had lunch at the 501 Shelter with a caretaker residence next door. This was a very nice set-up with a shelter with bunk beds, hinged windows, skylight, table and chairs. A solar shower as well as a water faucet, a very clean porta potty with toilet paper supplied are located nearby. There is pizza delivery available for thru hikers on certain days of the week. We ate our lunch at the picnic table.
Jerry, our Rabbit, stayed in the lead each day. About 30 minutes after lunch Jerry stopped at a viewpoint about 40 yards off the trail to wait for us. We skipped that viewpoint and kept going. At that point Jerry decided to have some fun and play cat and mouse. He slipped in behind Klaus to see how long it would take for us to realize he was behind us. After a mile of following us, by his account sometimes closing to 15’, he decided it was time for a heart check and let out a roar. He was lucky we didn’t swing around with out trekking poles and stab him because it certainly was a blood curling roar. Once our hearts recovered from the shock we had a good laugh and continued.
By now the rocks on the trail increased and we came to several areas of rock piles. We met Musher (another thru hiker) for the second time. He had bought new shoes and told us the rest of the trail was flat. His two hiking buddies were still behind him. He got his name because he was always urging them to keep moving. The trail continued with lots of rocks – some sections of little rocks and some areas of very large rocks. We then met Captain Red Beard and three other young guys who were all headed for the 501 shelter. We told them it was going to be a crowded shelter but they didn’t seem concerned because they said they could camp near there if needed. It also turned out that Musher’s idea of a level trail to Swatara Gap did not mesh with our experience which included more ups and downs. By the time we reached the iron bridge at Swatara Creek at 6:30 pm we were all tired.
We had dinner at Subway and then continued on to Paul Fabian’s log cabin. Paul is our former neighbor and had asked us a decade earlier to come up and spend some time with him at his log cabin house north of Port Clinton. We had one wrong turn on the last road direction but Klaus figured it out and we arrived about 8:00 pm. He gave us a tour of his yard, garden, and woods as the sun was setting. Then we toured the log cabin which is beautifully designed and decorated with numerous hunting trophies as well as two black bear skins. We talked about the next day’s arrangements since Paul would be shuttling us to the trailheads. Paul said we could spread out our wet tents on this long porch railing which was able to accommodate everything for a good airing. After that we had a shower. Jerry had his own room and we had another with a double bed. Sleep came right away!

Jul 25 - Clarks Valley to Swatara Gap - 17.4 mi - 8:00–4:10 - 75º F

We saw a wild turkey on the road as we approached the parking at Clarks Valley. The trail started as a long gradual uphill on an abandoned forest road with an elevation gain of approximately 1,000’. Our first major landmark was at 3.2 mi. where the Horseshoe Trail, which originates in Valley Forge, terminates at the AT after 121 mi. The AT continued on the side of Second Mountain with almost no elevation change and few rocks. We were passed by one thru hiker, then three others thru hikers we met yesterday caught up with us in the morning. We leap frogged each other for the next five miles until they stopped at Rausch Gap. The temperature had dropped to 70º F and the rain had started and then increased in intensity to the point we needed to put on our rain gear. We actually ate lunch on a rock under a tree that offered some protection but our peanut butter sandwiches were somewhat soggy by the time we finished.
We continued in the rain on a really well maintained section that included rock staircases, two rock bridges, a stream crossing with large rocks allowing us to be above the water, and two double plank board bridges. We noticed that several sections of the trail were lined with poison. The sun finally came out 2 miles from the finish. The last part of the trail took us out to a meadow, then back into the woods with an unexpected uphill as part of the last 1.4 miles. Close to the finish Jerry found a baby bird not able yet to fly in the shrubs close to the finish.
Earlier we had planned on dinner at Ruby Tuesday in Lebanon, but as we pulled into the parking lot we noticed a Golden Carrol. That was that. We immediately changed plans and ate there instead enjoying the buffet selections and ice cream with toppings for dessert.
Jerry had been worried about his ankle which had improved but said his calves were sore. Gale had experienced some chafing under her left arm from the backpack. Klaus said his feet were sore.